"The demon from Cathay has crossed Halin"

Eight thousand people.

Eight minutes.

Xierfankai Le's face froze for a moment, a look of shock flashing in his eyes.

He said in a deep voice, "Did Kang De launch a Forbidden Spell attack similar to the one outside Valentan?"

The deputy chief of staff said softly, "I'm afraid not. According to reports from our spies and scouts, we haven't found any swords of light or violent tremors similar to those Battle of Valentan, nor have we found any signs of a meteorite impact on the battlefield..."

"... So how did they lose!?"

All the staff members present were also drawn to it.

The deputy chief of staff hesitated for a moment, then handed over the intelligence. "Sir, perhaps you should do it yourself..."

"Read!"

Xierfankai Le glanced at the solemn, even uneasy, eyes of his staff around him, and shouted, "Read it aloud! Let everyone hear it! Let everyone understand what kind of enemy we are facing!"

"... yes."

The officer delivering the intelligence reported, "... The Sawada army, having formed ranks and prepared to attack Bulen City, was ambushed. The iconic alchemical chariot of the Cathayan, Kang De, appeared via spatial teleportation behind a squad of Sawada crossbowmen, killing an entire phalanx of seven hundred soldiers in less than thirty seconds. The survivors only heard a series of violent thuds, flashes of light, and explosions..."

"In his description, 'Hundreds of people fell like wheat blown down by a strong wind.'"

"Our scouts discovered numerous sharp metal arrowheads at the scene. These arrowheads pierced through shields, leather armor, and flesh, capable of rendering a soldier incapable of fighting or killing him instantly with a single arrow. We speculate that this is a product of the mechanical arts of the Cathay, including the alchemical chariot that can transform into a steel giant."

"The strange crossbows created by that mechanical art can fire shaftless bolts with immense power. The exact power is still being analyzed, but preliminary estimates suggest it is no less powerful than the armor-piercing heavy arrows fired by the archers."

"In addition, some of the crossbow bolts fired by the enemy were enchanted arrowheads, as well as explosive bolts. Although the number was not large compared to ordinary crossbow bolts, they still caused great damage."

The deputy commander glanced at the expressionless commander and continued, "More than one defeated soldier witnessed Kang De. He displayed extremely powerful spatial teleportation abilities, even capable of carrying that terrifying alchemical chariot along on a spatial jump. This is his attack method. At the very beginning of the battle, before the Sawada army could react, he jumped three times in succession, annihilating three infantry phalanxes..."

Xierfankai Le said coldly, "Hasn't the Officer Training Corps done anything?!"

"Captain Hai'an of the Officer Training Corps has done his utmost with loyalty, Your Excellency Commander."

While reviewing the intelligence, the deputy chief of staff said, "At the outset of the attack, Captain Hai'an immediately organized a defense, ordering the remaining soldiers to disperse into small teams, form shields, and defend. He also ordered mages to cast defensive spells, while the cavalry and crossbowmen provided cover fire..."

The elves listened intently, nodding slightly. Putting themselves in their shoes, they knew that if they were there, they wouldn't have been able to do any better in the face of this sudden and unprecedented attack.

The commander's tone softened slightly. "How was the result?"

"... It had no effect. The third-rate auxiliary troops of the Kingdom of Sawada lacked proper military skills and were unable to respond immediately and perfectly to Captain Hai'an's commands under those circumstances."

The adjutant said, "Captain Hai'an has dispatched half of the mages to assist the army in defense, and led the Officer Training Corps in a charge, attempting to disrupt and restrict the movement of the alchemical chariots..."

"--Then this venerable man died for his country."

"Died in a sneak attack."

"Two humans have stormed the battlefield. Evidence suggests that one of them is Hilmeria-Teldrassil, the adopted sister of Grand Duke Goth, and the Sword Saint Cascading Snow from the Battle God City."

"Secondly, there's the Crimson Queen, the leader of the Crimson Mercenary Corps who rose to prominence in the last two months. She rushed to Kang De's aid at the end of the Battle of Valentan, and she and the Sword Saint Cascading Snow stormed into the battlefield with terrifying speed. The two of them killed Lord Hai'an in a single blow, and within minutes, they had wiped out the entire officer training team."

"Then the Crimson Queen shattered the arc-shaped defenses erected by the mages, and the alchemical chariots charged forward. The heavily wounded Sawada forces, now out of the command of the training corps, immediately collapsed into a rout. Faced with the deafening roar, Flame, explosions, and death, they lost all courage."

"And the alchemical chariots followed behind them, shooting them down piece by piece. The battlefield was littered with severed limbs, strewn corpses, rivers of blood, shattered faces, and soldiers slowly bleeding to their deaths, groaning in agony, soldiers driven to madness by fear..."

"According to the scouts, an extremely pungent smell lingers on the battlefield, like..." the deputy chief of staff swallowed hard and said softly, "... the smell of a sulfurous inferno, the embers of hell."

The tent was deathly silent.

After a moment, the commander asked, "Where is General Sawada, who commands this legion? I remember him as an excellent spellcaster, excellent enough by elven standards."

"... died at the hands of Kang De." The deputy chief of staff checked the intelligence, "A mentally unstable soldier witnessed it all, but his account was insane and absurd, and not very credible."

What did he say?

He said, 'The black-haired demon ate Your Excellency the General.'

"..."

"..."

The elves present were all well-versed in Kang De's intelligence and refused to believe such absurd nonsense. However, upon hearing of such an absurd defeat, the unheard-of weapons, the horrific battlefield, the aura like a pool of sulfurous fire, and the soldiers' terrified and collapsing words...

An uncontrollable chill still crept into their hearts.

Because that person was Kang De.

Summon the Heavenly Sword to destroy the five legions, the legendary Forbidden Spell spellcaster, and your own enemy.

The expeditionary force launched a surprise attack and besieged Danfeng Lucerne.

So the man set off from Valentan.

He came here specifically for this place.

In eight minutes, an army that could not be called weak was utterly crushed—eight thousand men—in eight minutes.

It's as if it's announcing that this is just the beginning.

Then the elves truly understood— the Destroyer was coming.

In the eerie silence, Xierfankai Le's voice broke the stillness.

"This is the enemy we are facing."

"Powerful, mysterious, and with very little information available."

"We don't know his limits, we don't know his attack methods, we don't know his trump cards, we know nothing. The only thing we know is that if he launches the same attack Battle of Valentan over our heads, and we can't intercept or stop him, then you, me, all of us, hundreds of thousands of soldiers, will be like our tens of thousands of comrades in Valentan, forever left on foreign soil."

"This is the enemy we are facing."

The commander stared at his staff's faces until they looked away.

Are you scared? Scared of a human being?

For elves, provocation is very simple; just one sentence is enough to ignite their pride, causing their young faces to rise again and their cheeks to flush red.

"No!"

Of course not!

They denied and refuted the claims one after another.

"You are lying, you are afraid, you are uneasy."

The Commander-in-Chief ruthlessly exposed this pretense of strength.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, I'm scared too."

"I'm afraid we'll lose this war, I'm afraid countless great lads won't be able to go home, I'm afraid I won't be able to meet the country's demands of me, I'm afraid of death, we're all afraid."

He looked at those faces, and his tone became impassioned.

"--But what good is being afraid!"

"Should we grovel in fear? Should we yield to such blackmail and threats simply because Kang De said, 'I can kill you, I can raze your capital to the ground'?"

"Are we to slink away in defeat, allowing other nations to ridicule us and cease to respect us? Are we to simply forget the blood feud of the 60,000 compatriots he killed, as if nothing ever happened?"

"Are we supposed to hand over everything he wants—money, land, soldiers, wealth—all that our ancestors earned with their blood, just because he glares at us? Are we just going to give it all away?!"

"--He even wants to marry our queen!"

This last sentence completely ignited the anger of the hot-blooded young officers.

They roared and cursed angrily.

"We may die, we may be afraid, but that is no reason for us to give up or surrender. True courage lies in fighting despite fear!"

Xierfankai Le clenched his fist and roared, "Kill him! Avenge our comrades! Kill him! Wash away the shame of Twilight Moon! Kill him! No one can bring our great nation to its knees!"

The staff members roared wildly, and even the officers who arrived after hearing the commotion joined in the shouting.

"Tell me! My deputy chief of staff!" the commander-in-chief pointed at the elf who had just read the intelligence report, "Is Kang De's offensive completely without weaknesses? Is his attack utterly unstoppable?"

"No, sir!"

The opponent roared, "Kang De's special crossbow is powerful, but its range is limited! Given the weight of the bolts and the size of the chariot, his bolt reserve won't be very large; it will eventually run out!"

"Very good!"

The commander then pointed to an elf. "Don't you have any tactical methods to deal with him!?"

"Yes, sir!"

The elf roared, "Heavy armor! Commander! Strong shield! Commander! Magic! Commander!"

"And you! What's your answer?"

Another elf roared in response, "Restrict mobility! Spread out! Use mages to disrupt teleportation! Use behemoths to ram his chariots, sir!"

Other staff members also spoke up.

"Great! That's the answer I wanted, lads!"

Xierfankai Le slammed his hand on the table. "We have many elves, many intelligent and good elves who have graduated from military academies and are well-versed in countless battle examples! You have intelligence and a keen sense of the battlefield; you can see through the enemy's weaknesses, just like wolves!"

He pointed to the huge sand table.

From Valentan to Danfeng Lucerne, the battle lines stretched out in a jagged, interlocking pattern: armies, occupied territories, the elves' overwhelming manpower, countless auxiliary troops, and a plethora of consumables.

"We still have many opportunities, many vassal soldiers, who dream of dying for Twilight Moon!"

He roared, "Many opportunities have been given to test your methods, probe his limits, and force him to reveal his trump card! Now, I want you to formulate a battle plan, transmit it to the advancing army, equip them with weapons, add mages, revise the spell plans, and then closely monitor and analyze the advance of Kang De and his party, intercept them, wear them down, and force them to retreat!"

"But Kang De only had one chance!"

"We will have more and more methods, our battle plans will become more and more comprehensive, while Kang De's trump cards will become fewer and fewer. We will gradually widen the gap, and we will gradually gain the upper hand..."

"Then we will kill him in the skies above the city of Danfeng Lucerne!"

"Yes!"

The resounding reply echoed through the military tent.

"Captain of the Royal Guard!"

"Yes, sir!"

The elf beside him drew his sword and stepped forward.

Xierfankai Le pointed to the side wall of the tent behind him. "Go find me a banner! Write Kang De's progress on it, hang it here, so everyone can see it, all the time, that Kang De has arrived!"

"Yes, sir! May I ask what you wish to write?"

I'll write it myself!

A moment later, a banner was hung in the tent, serving as a buff to urge the staff to work harder.

"The demon from Cathay has crossed Halin."

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: Second update, 3500 words. Today's update is 6500 words.

PS2: I could have written another chapter, but I think I should go to sleep now because the holiday is over and the drilling rig will start again. I didn't sleep well yesterday, so I'll go to bed earlier today and get a good night's sleep so that my writing efficiency will improve tomorrow.

PS3: Goodnight, goodnight. And the current bounty is 9,000 blades, plus what's left from last month, making the total bounty 44,000 words... Time to sleep.